Mixed Emotions
by Dark Raichu1
Summary: A Houndour abandoned as an egg wants to be a police dog, but his dreams are shattered by those who say Houndour are evil. Struggling to find out who he is, he must overcome various obstacles to prove himself.
1. New Life

-- PROLUGUE --  
I hear a familiar whistle. I look up, and see my trainer approaching, along with him the other trainers. All the Growlithe perk their ears and run up to their trainers, the kind hearted police officers who train us and take good care of us.  
I'm a police dog. And so are these Growlithe.  
It's time for training. To protect the town from evil. From bad people who want to make our city a scary place to live.  
We live in Celadon City. Celadon City is very big. We police dogs play a big role to the citizens. Our job isn't an easy job, or a safe one. We sweat every day of our lives, training to be good police dogs. We put our lives on the line to protect these citizens. These citizens who rarely consider the danger, the true danger of our jobs.  
Yes. I'm a police dog. But ... I'm also a Houndour.  
These other Growlithe have accepted me. I am one of them, although I am a symbol of evil. The species Houndour, with its evil, mean appearance has always been regarded as the Pokèmon used by evil people. Team Rocket, thieves, and the rest. Houndour have always been thought of as selfish, heartless, and purely evil, the arch enemy of all Growlithe. And of all who do good.  
How many times must one stress the fact that no Pokèmon is born evil? And all Pokèmon must take commands from their trainers, no matter what their trainer believes in.  
And as I happily race to my beloved trainer, my caring, loving, undiscriminating trainer, I reflect on all the hard work that I had to do to even get into the police force.  
  
-- CHAPTER 1 --  
I heard sounds. Persistent sounds.   
tap, tap, tap, tap  
It's dark.  
I pushed and kicked against the walls that surrounded me.  
Crack ... crack, crack  
Light filtered in as I felt the walls gave way. My feet were free. I kicked them out and I felt small things falling on me.   
I continued pushing and growling, straining to break out of this dark prison.  
Crack, crackle, crick  
I pushed off the bits of wall that still hung on to me. Suddenly I pushed off one piece covering my face. What was this place that lay before me?  
Tall, bushy green things shooting up, on top of lumpy, hard-looking brown things, which went onto the flat surface I was sitting on. I was frightened of these things.   
I then noticed bits of crunchy white things all around me. I sniffed a big piece. It had my scent on it. Cautiously I put my paw on it.  
CRUNCH!  
I pulled back my paw and gasped. What was this place?  
It was then that I noticed things falling from above. One struck me on the nose, making me look inquisitivly up at the dark, gray openness above me. Many were falling! And when they hit, they splattered into many small ones which instantly disappeared into the green, soft surface I was sitting on.   
Then I felt something hitting me. It was cold. I looked, but couldn't find it. The tall, bushy green things waved around. Maybe they felt it too? The soft green surface which I sat on, it was waving about very slightly. It must have felt it.  
Suddenly it hit very hard. Even the white things about me blew some distance away. It was so hard that I could hear it. Howling, it sounded like.  
I was scared, I tried standing up, but found it very wobbly. I fell backwards, and landed on my back. I then found myself staring into the eyes of something else. It was blue with long, wavy strands of purple something coming from its head. What was this? Then it moved, and blinked, and sniffed me.  
I tried to get away, but I fell again.  
"It's okay, don't be scared." It said. "My two friends and I have been watching you for a while. We found your egg just yesterday."  
Then I noticed two other creatures approaching. A yellow one and an orange one.  
"I'm Suicune." Said the the blue creature I first saw. It pointed to the yellow creature. "That's Raikou." Pointing to the orange creature he said, "That's Entei."  
Raikou and Entei smiled.   
"We wondered when you would hatch." Said Raikou.   
"We had no idea what may be inside." Entei told me.  
"Now we know." Suicune said with a smile. "You're a Houndour."  
He walked some short distance away. "Look over here, in this mud puddle."  
I trusted him. I did as he said, and saw something staring back at me.  
"That's you." Said Entei. "That's what you look like."  
This was all very strange. "That's me?" I asked. This was the first time I had tried to speak.  
"Yes. Watch this." Raikou stood next to me over the puddle. His reflection appeared too.  
Suddenly a huge roar filled the air.  
"Thunder." Said Suicune. "We had better get you some shelter or you'll probably get sick."  
Entei picked me up in his jaws and the three raced off.  
We stopped at a cave.  
"This is our den." Said Suicune. "We meet here."  
Entei put me down. "You see, we're very rare Pokèmon."  
Raikou sighed. "Yes. Rare, as in, the only ones of our kind. Pokèmon trainers are always after us. But ... but we want to be free."  
"We hide out here a lot." Said Suicune. "But we like to be outside. But so many trainers are after us. So we either stay here or risk getting caught. We sleep here, but during the day we spend our time outdoors."  
"Won't you get caught?" I asked.  
"Not if we keep a look out for danger." Entei responded as he scratched his ear with a hind leg. "You have to be alert at all times."  
So we spent the rest of the day in the cave. During this time, the three explained things to me. I was just a hatchling. I learned the "tall, bushy green things" were trees. The "soft, green surface" was grass. And the invisible force that made the trees and grass blow was called the wind.  
It was a lot to learn, but I was having fun doing it.  
A week passed. My three "foster parents" were taking good care of me. I think they enjoyed it too. Even Entei's hard, stern expression seemed soft.  
Everday I played outside in the field just outside the cave. There was never anyone around, so I never had to worry about trainers. Now and then I ran into Caterpie, or Weedle. They never gave me any trouble and I never bothered them.   
Nearly every morning Suicune would take me out to different places while we searched for breakfast. His favorite spot was the Lake of Rage, because of the thick forests that blocked us from the view of trainers.  
I was scared of trainers. I hoped I would never be caught. They were my greatest fear. The very word "trainer" sent chills down my spine and made me sweat.  
But it didn't matter how much I hoped the day would never come that I would have to face my fear of trainers. Because one cold, chilly day, danger hit.  
  
  



	2. The Battle

CHAPTER 2   
Suicune and I were at the Lake of Rage early one morning. It was so early that the sun wasn't up, and it was still dark. Suicune was eating berries off the many bushes. He and I were sharing our finds.  
I loved it here. It was so foresty here, we never had to worry about trainers, or other people.  
Suddenly we heard someone pushing through the bushes. We both turned and found ourselves staring into the eyes of a man.  
"Yes! Finally, I've found Suicune!" He screamed. He pulled something from his belt, and threw it to the ground.  
It was a PokèBall, and out came a Raichu.   
"Run!" Shouted Suicune.  
We both started to make our escape, when we heard the man shout, "Raichu, Thunderwave! HURRY!!"  
I didn't know what was happening, but kept running. There was a loud crackling of electricity. Then I heard suicune shout.  
I turned to see him. He had fallen to the ground.   
"Houndour!" He shouted. "Keep running!"  
I stopped. How could I leave him behind?  
I charged back to him. He was paralyzed.   
"Go!" He said again.  
"YESSSSS!!" That insane man said in triumph. "Raichu! Use Thunder!"  
That idiot! He was trying to hurt my friend. The Pokèmon who saved me from the forest. I would've starved out there.  
No way would I let him do that.  
I charged at the Raichu, teeth bared and growling.  
"Oh no! Get outa here!" The man shouted.  
And he actually expected me to listen to him?  
I leaped at the Raichu and latched onto one of his monster ears.  
"Raiiiii!!" He cried.  
"Thunder! Thunder, you stupid big-eared rat!" The man yelled.  
I almost felt sorry for that Raichu.  
...Almost.  
I saw sparks building on his cheeks. I let go and darted behind him, barely missing the attack. I took a deep breath of air and set the poor guy's tail on fire.  
"RAAAAAAIIIIIIIII-CHUUUUUUU!!!" He screamed.   
"Body slam! BODY SLAM!!!" That psycho was at it again.  
But Raichu was too fast for me. He whipped around like lightning and with all of his body weight, sent me flying into the bushes.  
My ribs and neck hurt. That Raichu was too strong for me. And even if I DID beat him, what about that man? How many other Pokèmon did he have? Perhaps some even stronger than this Raichu.  
Then I decided that I'd have to go for the trainer. Without him, those Pokèmon wouldn't attack.   
I leaped out of the bushes, gathering up every last bit of strength I had left. I took a deep breath of air, and cut loose my toughest flame on that guy's rear.  
You should have seen the fire.  
"WAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" He screeched like a little baby. "Raichu! HELP ME! Save me, help!!"  
The Raichu didn't know what to do. Had that moron forgotten that his Raichu is [i]Electric[/i] type? What did he want him to do? Electricute the flames??  
So Raichu did all that he could do. He cut loose with a Thunderbolt and shocked the living snot out of that moron, who was hopping around like a rabbit.  
"AAAAAAACCCKKK!" He shouted.   
After the surge had ended, the idea that the lake was right behind him occured to him. Jumping through the bushes he dove into the icey cold water.  
He yelled at that too.  
"Dang you Raichu!!" He shouted after the flames were burnt out.  
"Quick!" I told Suicune. "We need to hurry and get out of here before that jerk comes back!"  
Suicune stood up, trying to keep his balance. His legs were stiff.  
We managed to escape to another part of the forest. Suicune searched for, what he called, a Paralyze Cure Berry, and as soon as he found one, he ate it.  
He said it would cure his paralysis. I doubted that, but it was true. Suicune was cured, and we both headed back to the cave.   
We relayed the frightening story to Raikou and Entei, who were both happy that we had escaped.   
"Has this ever happened before?" I asked. Fear still shook my voice.  
"Yes, a lot of times." Suicune answered, sounding exhausted. "Have you ever been in the city?"  
I shook my head.  
"Well, if you ever visit it, try looking in the windows of the PokèMart. Posters advertising PokèBalls that can catch us."  
"New! Improved! Especially useful for catching those extra rare Pokèmon!" Snorted Entei. "Yeah. And then they show a picture of us."  
"And read the tabloids sometime. Stories of people who spotted us, and all that. It just makes people want to catch us even more!" Suicune sounded so fed up.  
I hung my head. I wish there was a way I could help me friends. But I couldn't find anything. I felt so guilty, leeching off of them. They took care of me, they fed me, they taught me all sorts of things. And what did I do in return?  
Another week or so passed. I felt lonely. All my conversation was with these three adults. I longed for another kid to talk to. Someone my age who thought the way I thought. Someone to play around with.  
The three must have noticed this sudden change in my behavior, because one day they approached me, and told me they couldn't take care of me anymore.  
"It's not fair to you." Said Suicune. "You need friends your own age. And you need real parents. Ones who can out in public without worrying about getting captured."  
I was heartbroken. "No! I want to stay with you guys! I don't need anyone my age, or any of that!"  
"We're doing what's best for you." Said Raikou. I could tell he was wishing I could stay.  
"We've found the perfect family too." Entei said. "A pair of Arcanine. And they have a son, a Growlithe. They seem like a happy family. Maybe they wouldn't mind adopting a Houndour?"  
I was fighting back the tears. "I want to stay. Here, with you."  
Suicune sighed, and placed a paw on my shoulder. "You've got to."  
I followed them as they led me to the home of my new parents. I hated having to leave. I wished so hard that it didn't have to be this way.  
The cold winter air blew hard as we walked through the field that lay in front of our cave. And by the time we reached the path, it was drizzling very lightly.  
Then through the trees I saw something orange, jumping around, splashing in the puddles.  
"That's him, their son." Said Suicune, and then we all stopped. "Here's what you do."  
The three told me to go out to the Growlithe and offer to play tag. And to keep playing with him until his parents called for him to come home. It would be raining hard soon, they warned, so I needed to hurry. When the Growlithe started for home, I was to ask if I could come. Hopefully he'd say yes. And when I met the parents, I should be on my best behavior. And when they asked about my parents, I was to say I had none.  
"That should do it." Said Raikou.  
"Now go!" Suicune said with worry in his voice.  
I started to cry. "But ..."  
"No buts. You must hurry!" Entei said.  
I brushed the tears, said goodbye, and hurried up to the Growlithe.   
"Hi!" I said, trying to act cheery.  
The startled Growlithe turned, then smiled. "Hi, I'm Growlithe!"  
"I'm Houndour." I swallowed the knot in my throat. "You want to play tag?"  
"Sure! I'll be it!" He raced away.  
I turned one last time to my friends. They were slowly walking away. Suicune turned once, waved slowly, and then they disappeared into the trees.  
I was alone. If this plan failed ... I'd be on my own. 


	3. First Impressions

CHAPTER 3  
Then came a shout.  
"That's my mom, I have to go!" Growlithe said, and then walked toward the sound.  
"Can ... can I come over?" I stuttered. I hated to say those words.  
"Sure, let's go!" He raced away through the rain, which was now very heavy.  
I splashed through the mud after him, and then we arrived at his home.  
I had expected it to be nothing other than what I'd seen in this forest. Maybe a clearing of trees? Instead, it was an old abandoned log cabin. They were lucky to have found this.  
"Come on in." Growlithe said as he walked up the porch, and pushed open the door with his paw.  
I cautiously followed him. I was scared. I shook off the water and mud before entering, then went in. It was dark, except for a few holes in the roof, which allowed for sunlight. Unfortuantely it also allowed for rain.   
"There you are Growlithe." Came a voice.  
I looked and saw a huge orange Pokèmon step out from a room. She looked just like Growlithe, but bigger and fluffier. I later learned that the species was called Arcanine.  
"I was beginning to worry that ..." She gasped when she saw me. "You ... you brought ... a friend?"  
"Yeah, we were playing tag and he asked to come over. His name is Houndour."  
"H-hello, Houndour." She looked over her shoulder and shouted. "Honey! Come here please!" She looked back and smiled. "Growlithe, why don't you and Houndour go to your room and play."  
"Okay. C'mon, Houndour!" Growlithe replied.  
I followed after him, but I was curious about what Growlithe's mom was going to say to her husband. So I peeked around the corner and saw another Arcanine appear from the same room as Growlithe's mom's. They sat down in the living room and whispered.  
"Dear, our son has befriended a Houndour. You know what everyone says about those Pokèmon."  
"Oh dear." Said Growlithe's dad. "Everyone says they're evil. And that they are against all things good."  
"Exactly. What do we do? I never thought of this happening. I never made up my mind on what we should do if our son ever made friends with a Houndour."  
I was stunned. Houndour? Evil? I wasn't evil!  
"Well, maybe we oughta just see for ourselves. Maybe Houndour aren't really like that."  
The mother sighed. "I agree. But I'm scared for Growlithe to have influences that may be bad."  
Suddenly a shout startled me.  
"Hey Houndour, come on!" It was Growlithe. I would have to miss the rest of the conversation.  
I went into his room and sat down near the doorway, hoping to catch some bits and pieces of the conversation. But Growlithe was so enthusiastic ... not to mention loud. It was hard to listen to the conversation and pay attention to him at the same time.  
"Check this out!" Growlithe said. He jumped up onto a box, and poked his head out his window. "My room has a window that looks out at a big field. Come see."  
I reluctantly went up to the window. He jumped down from the box and I took his place. I looked out at the field, and at the mountains behind it. Then I noticed a dark hole on the side of the mountain.  
That wasn't just any dark hole either. I recognized it. It was the cave. I was crushed. I lowered my head and rested them on my paws and stared out at that place I loved. Not that I loved it because it was such a great old cave. But because it was my home. The place my three friends and I spent together.  
"What's wrong? Houndour? Hey, Houndour!"  
I turned, startled. "What?"  
"What's wrong? You look sad."  
I quickly changed my facial expression. "Oh, no. Nothing. Nothing's wrong."  
"Okay ..." He answered, sounding a bit confused.  
Then the two Arcanine walked in.   
"Houndour, where do you live?" Asked the father.  
"I don't have a home." I answered sadly, because now I really didn't.  
They were clearly surprised to hear this. "What about ... your parents? Where are they?"  
"I don't have any parents. I hatched, but ... I guess they abandoned me." I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I didn't want to cry, but I felt one tear slide down my cheek. I quickly wiped it away, but they probably noticed it.  
"You're homeless?" Asked the mother, with sympathy in her voice  
"Yes." I answered.  
"We'd, ah, better go have a little discussion, dear." The father quickly said. "You boys have fun. We'll be back soon."  
They both left.  
"You don't have a mom and dad?" Growlithe asked, still surprised.  
"No." I replied, after swallowing a knot in my throat.  
Growlithe sensed my sadness. The rest of this time was spent quietly doing nothing. Nothing but sitting and shuffling our feet. It was an uncomfortable silence. Growlithe not knowing how to react, and me not knowing how to handle my situation. And finally the two Arcanine returned.  
"Houndour?" Said the mother. "We're going to let you stay here for a while, at least until we can find you some parents."  
I was a little worried. They were supposed to say, 'Houndour, we're adopting you!'. But I couldn't let them know the plan. I had to be on my best behavior. Perhaps, in the end, they'd see that Houndour aren't all evil.  
"Thank you!" I wanted them to know how thankful I was. I raced up to them and gave them each a hug. "Thank you so much!"  
They were surprised by this. But they smiled.  
The rest if the day was spent inside. A terrible storm was shaking the trees outside. The howling wind sounded so lonely and cold. The rain was pouring. And even though we were inside, when the wind blew, it blew rain in through Growlithe's window, getting us wet.  
I knew I was a Fire type, and so was Growlithe, but water outside a Pokèmon battle wouldn't hurt us. At least not siginificantly. Growlithe seemed to like feeling the rain drops splatter him in the face.  
As for me, I was too depressed to find pleasure in anything. But for the sake of making a good impression on my "mom and dad", I shouted and played with Growlithe.  
If they didn't accept me, a trouble-making Houndour, I had no idea what I would do next. But I knew that I wouldn't be kicked out without having tried my best. No. I would do all within my power to stay. That way, if the frightening idea of them sending me away DID come true, I would at least be comforted by the thought that I had done my best. 


	4. Unexpected Influences

CHAPTER 4  
Days passed and I was still living with Growlithe and his parents. No one even mentioned me leaving.   
I had worked hard to be good, and to prove myself. Every morning I'd help with what little chores there were. Dusting the floors with a small branch covered in leaves, keeping the front yard clean. And I even helped find breakfast. Sometimes I'd wake up very early, when it was still dark, and pick berries for breakfast.  
This made a good impression. They never discussed my leaving. I had to work hard so they'd know that not all Houndour were bad. I hadn't met another Houndour, so maybe they were born bad, but I knew that I wasn't. And somehow I had to prove it.  
After an entire week living at his house, I was pretty confident that I was staying here for good. But one night I felt saddened. I missed my three friends. As everyone slept, I quietly stepped onto the box under Growlithe's window and jumped through the window. I walked a little ways, and then sat down. The moonlight was hardly shining. The starless night was cloudy, windy, and cold.   
I stared off at the cave. I couldn't see it. It was too dark. But I knew it was there. That's all that mattered.  
I sat there recalling all the good times I'd had with my three pals, when a sound jerked me back to the real world.  
"Pssst! Hey, you!"  
Startled, I looked around. What ...? I didn't see anyone ...  
"Over here!" Out from the darkness of the woods stepped a figure. And another one. And two others.  
I was scared. A trainer? Houndour haters?   
Then what little moonlight there was lit up the silhouette of the one in front of the others.  
It was like looking into a mirror! Another Houndour! And with him three others.  
"What?" I said. "I've never met another Houndour before!!" I walked up to him and studied his face. Wow! It really was another Houndour.  
"Yeah, sure, kid. I'm Blaze. These other guys are my pals. But anyway, the reason I'm here. We heard there was a Houndour living with a family of Arcanine. That would be you, right?"  
I nodded.  
His jaw dropped. He turned over his shoulder to the other three and laughed. "Hey guys, can you believe it? The rumors were true!" He turned back to me. "I can't believe this. I'm speechless! I mean, who woulda thought a Houndour first of all, would want to be around Arcanine and Growlithe, let alone ACTUALLY live in the same home as them!"  
Then all four burst into laughter.  
I felt bad, like they were laughing at me.  
"Hey, kid. How did you manage to do it, huh?" Blaze asked.  
I thought for a second. "Uhh ... I just ... was a good kid."  
They stared at me.  
"Ahhh, good?" Blaze stuck his nose in my face. "GOOD? Kid, Houndour don't act 'good'. We act BAD. Who told you otherwise?"  
I took a step backward. "Well, no one. I was just born that way."  
He started nodding. "Oh yeah, sure, I see, uh-huh." He answered in a sarcastic tone. I didn't like him already. "So, why'd you leave your parents for those two Arcanine?"  
A knot formed in my throat. This was a sensitive issue. "Because I don't have any. I hatched alone. They abandoned me or something, I don't know, and I don't care."  
"Ooooohhhhh, no WONDER you're so mixed up! There was never no one to show you the ways of the Houndour!" He shook his head in disgust. "Come with us. We run wild, no parents. We're on our own and lovin' it. You'll love it too."  
"I like my ... umm, parents ..." I stuttered, not sure if they really were.  
"Of course you do!" Blaze answered. "You don't know no better. But after you hang out with us for a while, you'll know what bein' a Houndour is alllll about! C'mon, let's go!"  
He turned to leave.  
"I'm staying. I can't leave." I answered.  
"Come on." Said another. "We'll show you how to be a real Houndour."  
"I ... I can't. I've got to be good or they'll make me leave." Before they could say anything else, I raced back to Growlithe's place, leaped back in through the window, and hid in the closet should they come looking for me.  
Morning came quickly. I awoke to find myself still in the closet. I didn't mean to fall asleep in there. Those guys never did come back, at least not to my knowledge, and if they did, I didn't hear them.  
I stepped out of the closet to find Growlithe staring at me.  
"Umm ... what are you doing?" He asked.  
I smiled nervously. "Nothing really. Just felt like ... looking in the closet!"  
He gave me an expression that says, "Sure, whatever you say, but I don't get it."  
"Breakfast!" Came a shout.  
That was when I realized how incredibly hungry I was.  
We both hurried to eat, playfully shoving eachother to see who got there first.  
Growlithe won, naturaully, since I had no idea where the breakfast was to be eaten. It turned out that it was in the room where I had first seen Growlithe's mom emerge from.  
Breakfast was a variaty of berries, and a mushroom and apple for each of us.  
I was, I have to admit, disappointed at the lack of a meat food group. But the prospect of being homeless was even scarier than life without meat.  
Breakfast was good. Not to offend my three friends, but ... they didn't know how to make a good meal. But I didn't know any better back then. That was the only food I had ever eaten, how was I supposed to know that better food did exist?  
As soon as breakfast was over, Growlithe invited to play outside. I happily agreed to go, the sun was shining its warm, comforting rays on everything it touched. This was new compared to the bad weather we had been having lately, especially last night.  
When we went outside, I cautiously looked around. I didn't want to run into those mysterious four Houndour who had appeared from practically no where. And what would happen if my parents learned that I had been talking to them? They'd think I was keeping bad company, and that I really was bad. I had to stay away from them.  
After I had made sure they weren't around, I leaped after Growlithe, who was already off the porch.  
After romping through the grass, we both lay on our backs and stared up at the sky. We talked about different things. Why the is sky blue, reasons we wouldn't want to belong to a trainer, and what the difference is between an ocean and a sea.  
But our thoughts were interrupted by the shriek of a whistle and shouting. We raised our heads and stood to our feet. I shook the grass of my back, and listened to the sounds.  
"It's okay." Said Growlithe. "It's just training."  
"What do you mean?"  
He pointed his snout in the direction of the sounds. "The police dogs. They train everyday. It looks like a lot of work, but they do it to protect the city."  
This sounded very interesting.  
"You want to go see?" He asked.  
"Sure." I responded.  
"It's over this way." He led me through the trees, all the while the sounds grew louder. Then he pushed past some bushes and motioned for me to be quiet.   
I poked my head through and gasped. There were at least twenty Growlithe in a large pen, each with their own trainer. They were racing around the pen with their trainers.  
"That's excersise." Whispered Growlithe. "They need to be in shape you know."  
After a few minutes, they gathered together, Growlithe and trainer. Then a woman stepped in front of everyone else and was, it appeared, giving them instructions.  
"Now they're going to practice commands with the Growlithe. Things like attack, and sit." Growlithe mumbled quietly, his eyes locked on the activity going on before us.  
We watched for a while before Growlithe informed me it was lunch time. I hated to leave. As we headed back to the house, Growlithe and I talked about the police dogs.  
"That's what I want to be when I grow up." He said excitedly. "You train and train, it's a lot of work, but you put your life on the line to help people. You protect the city from evil."  
Then, suddenly, I was struck with an idea. Protect the city from evil? If I did that, certainly everyone would realize that I am not evil. Why would I want to protect the city from evil if I myself was evil?  
It was perfect. I then made up my mind to become a police dog, and prove to everyone that I was a good Houndour, no matter how silly an idea they thought it was. 


End file.
